Jim Wells County Community Network
May 1, 2002 For more information, contact:
For immediate release Alice Byers (361) 664-2981 (x3021)
Project Director
Coastal Bend College – Alice Center
State Approves $500,000 for Implementation of
Jim Wells County Community Network
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CHRISTUS Health Awards $25,000 Grant to Support Project
The Texas Telecommunications Infrastructure Fund Board (TIF) has approved $500,000 in state funding for the Jim Wells County Community Network (Network) to help close the digital divide for county residents by expanding public access to the Internet. CHRISTUS Health has also approved a $25,000 grant to provide matching funds for the project. The funds will be used to purchase 75 computers to be located at 27 public access sites in various communities throughout the county including Alice, Premont, Orange Grove, Ben Bolt-Palito Blanco, Sandia, and La Gloria, develop the web site for the Community Network, www.JimWells.Net, and provide computer training for local residents. Assistance and funding will also be provided to help local governments develop web sites and e-government services.
The Network is a partnership of 24 local education, healthcare, library, government, business, and community organizations that was established in June 2001 in order to prepare an application to the TIF for a $525,000 grant to plan and implement the Network. The Governing Board for the Network includes representatives of Coastal Bend College, Jim Wells County, City of Alice, CHRISTUS Spohn Hospital Alice, Alice Public Library, Alice Chamber of Commerce, Alice & Jim Wells County Economic Development Council (EDC), Alice ISD, Ben Bolt – Palito Blanco ISD, Orange Grove ISD, and Premont ISD. The initial grant application was sponsored by the EDC. Coastal Bend College – Alice Center is serving as the fiscal agent for the Network, and is responsible for the administration of the grant. “ Coastal Bend College is proud to be a part of this important initiative for our community,” stated Alice Byers , Director of the Alice Center and Project Director. Byers stated, “This is a tremendous opportunity for Jim Wells County to close the digital divide by providing greater access to information and opportunities for our citizens.”
In August 2001, TIF announced that Jim Wells County had been awarded the community network grant along with 60 other communities in the state. The grant includes $25,000 for planning and $500,000 for implementation of the Network Plan, which must be completed by April 2003. Both the planning and implementation grants require a 10 percent local funding match. Southwestern Bell awarded a $2,500 Economic Excellence Grant to the EDC to provide matching funds for the planning phase. In February 2002 at the completion of the planning phase, the proposed Network Plan was submitted to TIF. In March, TIF announced that the Network Plan and funding for the implementation phase had been approved. (For more information, please see attached Network Plan Summary.)
In April, CHRISTUS Health awarded a $25,000 grant to the Network to provide half of the required local funding match. Other contributors include the City of Alice ($10,000), Jim Wells County ($5,000), Workforce Network, Inc. ($7,000, in-kind), Alice Housing Authority ($2,000), and Alice Regional Hospital ($1,000). CHRISTUS Health is one of the 10 largest Catholic sponsored health systems in the country, and has provided millions of dollars to community initiatives focusing on the poor and underserved through the CHRISTUS Health grant program, the CHRISTUS Fund. Sponsored jointly by the congregations of the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word in Houston and the Sisters of the Incarnate Word in San Antonio, CHRISTUS Health has more than 40 hospitals and long-term care facilities, as well as dozens of other health services in more than 70 communities in Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Utah, as well as Monterrey and Saltillo, Mexico. CHRISTUS Spohn Hospital Alice is one of the major partners in the Network. The hospital’s Vice President and Administrator, Margot Rios , serves as a member of the Network’s Governing Board.
A top priority for CHRISTUS Health and one of the major objectives of the Network is to support the Healthy Communities Initiative, a partnership of local hospitals, healthcare organizations, and social service providers to help improve the health and quality of life of county residents. Healthy Communities is a world-wide initiative that originated with the World Health Organization in the mid-1980’s, and is now active in more than 50 countries. In the United States , more than 1,000 communities and 37 states are active in the program.
Jim Wells County Judge L. Arnoldo Saenz and Alice Mayor Rito Silva serve as members of the Network’s Governing Board. “I’m pleased that Jim Wells County received a Community Network Grant made available through the Telecommunications Infrastructure Fund,” stated Judge Saenz. He added, “This could only happen when the community gets together and works toward a goal that will benefit all the citizens of our great county.” Mayor Silva stated, “ "I'm really proud of the grant. This will help close the technology gap and give more citizens access to computers that otherwise would not have that chance.” He concluded, “Furthermore, I hope this grant will bring city services and city information to the technological era. We are making great strides to catch up to the rest of the country in the area of technology."
Dr. John Brockman , President of Coastal Bend College emphasized the importance of this project, “What if you had heard about State Highway 44 or U. S. Highway 281 for years and years, but you had no access to either road. You knew that the highways were there, but you, your family, and your business could not get to these highways. You probably wouldn't like it and your business would probably suffer.” He continued, “There are citizens of Jim Wells County who have heard about the Internet for years and years, but they cannot get to it. The Jim Wells Community Network will help solve this problem by providing access to the World Wide Web.” He concluded, “The community network will open doors that are now closed to many Jim Wells County citizens.”
The Governing Board has selected DRC Consultants, an Alice consulting firm, to provide project management services during the implementation phase of the Network Plan. The firm also assisted in the development of the Network Plan. DRC Consultants was established in 2001 by David R. Cich, former director of the EDC and executive vice president/CEO of the Alice Chamber of Commerce. Cich has more than 22 years experience in chamber of commerce and financial institution management. As director of the EDC, he assisted in the preparation of the Community Network planning grant application. DRC Consultants’ project team will include the Corpus Christi firm of Olivarri & Associates, Inc., and Kati Downes of Alice . Olivarri & Associates prepared the initial planning grant application. Kati Downes is the former Marketing Director for Alice Regional Hospital . Cich stated, “DRC Consultants and our project team are honored to be a part of this effort to connect more Jim Wells County citizens to the Internet.” He added, “This initiative will offer unlimited opportunities to citizens of all ages.”
BACKGROUND :
The State of Texas established the Telecommunications Infrastructure Fund from proceeds of taxes collected from mobile phone users. The funds are used for a variety of different types of grants to educational and health institutions. The Community Network grant program emphasizes building telecommunications resources for the general public and connecting the public to existing or new resources. In 1999-2000, the TIF approved the first round of grants under this program. This is the second round. While area educational institutions and libraries have received funding through other TIF programs, the Jim Wells County Community Network is the first network funded by the agency in the Coastal Bend. Over 400 communities competed for this round of Community Network funding, 61 communities were awarded planning grants, and 53 community network plans were approved for full funding.